Mayor urges ABC prexy: Prioritize barangay merger

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio Domogan Thursday urged reelected Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) president Joel Alangsab to reconsider his stand on the proposed merger of the barangays.

Alangsab reportedly said that the merger will not be a priority in his ABC administration.

But Domogan expressed hope that Alangsab will change his mind and realize the importance and urgency of the rationalization.

He said the merger if adapted will not be implemented during the term of the newly elected barangay officials.

“We cannot just remove the mandate given to these barangay officials by the people so we cannot shorten their term by means of a merger,” he said.

The mayor said it is high time to revive the scheme to improve the status of the city’s barangays particularly in improving the financial and administrative stature of these barangays as among the benefits of having a lower number of barangays.

He said it will resolve the problems on funding and administration confronting the barangays at present. He said it is no longer practical to maintain the present set-up of having 128 barangays.

“As such, it is no longer practical to maintain the present 128 barangays. Some barangay can not stand on their own as they don’t meet the requirements under the Local Government Code so the city has to seriously consider the merger,” he said.

The merger was first proposed in 2003 but only reached the level of holding consultations.

In 2007, the matter again surfaced and again failed to materialize.

Pro-merger advocates then said the merger would lead to the professionalization of the service and standardization of salaries of barangay heads and councils which will redound to benefits for the constituents.

The reduced number of barangays would also make it easier to manage on the part of the city government apart from the fact that it would in effect help the city comply with the requirements of the Local Government Code on the set up of the barangays.

On the other hand, those opposed to the idea cited concerns on the chances of smaller barangays to get a seat in the barangay councils and to get a share from the budgets should the merger be pursued. They also aired concern on the bigger responsibility that the merger would entail on the barangay officials.